Jay "not the one with points/who needs ripeness/NYC's own" Miller did
a great job organizing a horizontal of 2000 Clos Vougeot last night at
Michael's in midtown Manhattan. 9 metro area winegeeks gathered to
taste 11 '00 Burgs (10 Clos Vougeot and 1 ringer) blind. A nice vocal
and opinionated group, with some diverging tastes. I was not feeling
100%, and was quieter than norm, but thought I'd trot out my brief
impressions to give a start, others can fill in their opinions. Jay
and Cliff Rosenberg had double-decanted the wines about an hour before
dinner I believe.

Wine # 1
Medium bodied, bright acidity, crisp if slightly subdued red cherry
and raspberry fruit, nice mineral finish. This was some people's
favorite, but later in night it was revealed to be slightly corked.
Would like to taste a "correct" bottle. B+ when initially poured

Wine # 2
Ripe warm fruit, low acid, entire package seems flat and
uninteresting. Somewhat short on finish, one of only 2 bottles I
really found unappealing. C+

Wine # 3
A lifted nose with a slight candied note at first, a little oak, but I
like the palate better than the nose. Good structure, nice wine. B/B+

Wine # 4
Quite dumb on the nose at first. Big on palate, extracted but not
oaky, maybe just a hint of green. Table consensus it's the Jadot.
Chewy wine, but I like. B+

Wine #5
Big, ripe, long- one of the more divisive wines. The bottle has clued
in people its the Leroy. I find it appealing, yet not really what I
look for in Burgundy - a voluptuous wine. I say it is trying to be a
Pomerol, which gets me some strange looks, till I explain I meant
texturally, the lushness. That at least keeps me from getting kicked
off table. B/B+

Wine # 6
I don't especially care for this at first, but it really grows on me
with air to become one of my favorites of night. Sweet fruit, crisp
acidity, moderate tannins. Some herb and cocoa notes. A-/B+

Wine # 7
At first fruit on nose strikes me as unusual, ripe red plums, but
seems to settle into a more Burgundesque cherry/raspberry profile. On
palate this is really beautiful, a medium-bodied wine with dark
cherry, earth, and a little herb. Ends up as my vote for WOTN. I'm
thinking this might be the Mugneret. A-

Wine #8
Maybe just a hint of barnyard, sweet fruit with a bit of oak, I find
a little hard, but with some time could be good. B/B+

Wine # 9
Spicy toasty oak, nice balance of black raspberry fruit, tannin, and
acidity. I think this might be the Meo. B+/A-

Wine # 10
Sweet, big, ripe fruit but with lots of acidity (almost too much for
me), tannic structure. Needs time. B/B+

Wine # 11
Huge ripe nose, someone says "Loring." Lots of oak, this reminds me of
cherry cough syrup. C+

Wines were revealed:
1.2000 Fourrier "Petits Vougeot" Vougeot 1er Cru
2. 2000 Lamarche Clos Vougeot (I realize some producers label Clos de
Vougeot, but I'll be simple and consistent)
3. 2000 JJ Confuron Clos Vougeot
4. 2000 Jadot Clos Vougeot
5. 2000 Leroy Clos Vougeot
6. 2000 George Mugneret Clos Vougeot
7. 2000 Rene Engel Clos Vougeot
8. 2000 Meo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot
9. 2000 Jean Grivot Clos Vougeot
10. 2000 Potel Clos Vougeot
11. 2000 Anne Gros Clos Vougeot

The fun of tasting blind. If you had asked me beforehand, I wouldn't
have predicted Engel in my top 3, much less my favorite. And would
have guessed Anne Gros to be a fave, rather than my last place
finisher. The Engel and Grivot were particular finds, as comparative
values

There was one non-blind bottle, the 1992 Drouhin Clos Vougeot, Jay
brought as he couldn't locate the 2000. A nice mature Burg, tannins
resolved, good acidity, some mineral, maybe just a hint of (not
unattractive) greenness still there. Wish I still had my food when
this came around. B/B+

Kudos to Jay for a great job coordinating, thanks to Chet for the
Leroy, Paul Jaouen for arranging venue,and to everyone for the good
company. I liked my food, though the sauces on the sweetbreads and the
veal cheeks were a bit much for the wines. Others had some doneness
issues with meat, but I think everyone had a good time. Overall I had
quite a favorable impression of the wines, though I was a bit fatigued
and maybe not up to mustering my usual enthusiasm. Fun night anyway.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.